There is a strong sense of ‘Project 150’ around Manchester United’s decision to pay £18.1m for 23-year-old goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
The plan to aim for the Premier League title in 2028, the 150th anniversary of the club that started life as Newton Heath and turned into Manchester United, was first outlined by chief executive Omar Berrada to staff in September 2024.
Berrada doubled down on the aim in June this year in an interview with the respected United We Stand fanzine, stating: “Why not aim for it?”
The overall strategy of building for a better future was behind the decision taken less than 12 hours before the transfer window closed.
United told Lammens to board a private jet and fly to Manchester, rather than ask Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez to head up the M6 to complete the move he had hoped would happen virtually since last season ended.
Sources say the dilemma was straightforward.
Firstly, United know significant improvement is required this season after the debacle 2024-25 became. But ‘Project 150’ is the bigger plan Berrada and the club ownership are striving to achieve.
United are respectful of Martinez. They accept the Argentina international is proven in the Premier League.
He has played at the highest levels of the game and won the World Cup. He is not mistake free by any means though and made more errors leading to shots last season (6) than United’s Andre Onana (4).
But Martinez has the personality to deal with that at a time when even head coach Ruben Amorim says: “It is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment.”
Lammens is at the other end of the experience scale. The 6ft 4in stopper has 93 appearances to his name, only 52 of which have come in the Belgian Pro League.
His single outing in the Champions League came in Royal Antwerp’s 2-0 defeat by Porto in November 2023. He was picked for the Belgium senior squad for the first time in March and has yet to win a full cap.
Credit: bbc.com
